Arcerion National Security Enterprise
The National Security Enterprise of Arcerion is the combined civilian and military organizations that form part of Arcerion's domestic and international response to national issues relating to policing, use of armed force, intelligence, surveillance, diplomacy, and international relations.
Origins
In 1966, Arcerion's Confederate Parliament realized that there was a distinct lack of coordination in response to the Arcer Bush Wars. The Bush Wars identified that the whole-of-government had to respond to issues in force, with liaison officers, joint coordination and CIMIC (civil-military cooperation) to effectively combat insurgent forces in the Operation Terrace area. In response, the first Government Coordination Centre (GCC) was created, comprised of senior officers and enlisted advisors from each of Arcerion's armed service branches, intelligence liaisons from the Office of Public Security and National Safety, and representatives from the Royal Arcerion Constabulary and Arcerion Diplomatic Service. The successful end to the insurgency led to reconstruction effort needed to ensure a safe and secure effort to repair war damage from the conflict and revamp the local economy. Not wanting the efforts to be wasted, the Confederate Parliament moved to establish the National Security Enterprise as an more permanent element within the Arcer government.
At the war's conclusion in 1975, the government established the Ministerial Coordination Element (MCE) to further ensure all governmental services were represented. Within the MCE, the representative of the National Security Enterprise were a delegated official from each of the NSE's four components, giving the ordinary Arcer government departments access to a greater amount of resources and ability to bring effect to problem sets.
The first major test of the NSE's coordination and capability came with internal issues stemming from socialist revolts and unrest in Easthampton, wherein the NSE deployed members of the Royal Arcerion Constabulary, with limited assistance from the Arcerion Special Operations Command to combat the ringleaders, with the OPSNS providing over-border infiltration and interdiction of cells and support networks from Washakara stirring up socialist Indigenous forces. Concurrent to this, the Diplomatic Service engaged Washakara to ensure they understood the government's position that meddling in domestic Arco affairs would not be tolerated. In total, the events lasted less than a year, showing that the combined efforts of the Arcer government could yield excellent results.
Agencies
The Arcer National Security Enterprise is comprised of four main elements, of which both military and civilian organizations are represented.
- Armed Forces of Arcerion, comprised of Arcerion's land, air, sea, and special operations forces;
- Office of Public Safety and National Security, which conducts intelligence and surveillance in support of the government's intelligence objectives and serves their requirements both domestically and internationally;
- Royal Arcerion Constabulary, the federal police service and gendarmerie in Arcerion, responsible for cross-governorate policing issues and policing at the national level;
- Arcerion Diplomatic Services, comprised of representatives from the Department for International Trade, the Foreign Office, and the civilian personnel from the Ministry of Defence.
Structure and Coordination
The NSE primarily consists of representatives from all four of the main components, which sit in a committee weekly to discuss and plan for issues and problems assigned to them or brought to their attention by their respective services. As well, coordination is done with the Ministerial Coordination Element, wherein those services that are not represented are given a voice.
Coordination is done at weekly meetings, which are chaired by the 1st Deputy Minister, with the assistant chair being the current member of parliament assigned to the Ministerial Coordination Element. Representatives follow a generally established protocol of following up on old files or missions to maintain progress, for example ensuring the 2026 Kelekonan Peacekeeping Agreements are maintained and receive the requisite support. Briefs are then given or received based on national security requirements or changes to international or domestic trends, with decisions requiring additional deployment or modifications to existing Ministerial or other directives being pushed to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) as required.
New decisions are pushed to the NSE staff on a weekly basis as well, and emergency sessions can be called for extraordinary circumstances. NSE representatives are also expected to brief Parliament on National Security issues and are regularly summoned to Parliamentary hearings to brief or answer questions regarding governmental affairs.
Role Within the Arcer Government
Within the Arcer government, the NSE does not have the delegated authority to actually enact policy changes or direct forces. It is strictly a coordinating element for the action arms of respective government agencies and departments. This meaning that in instances where things need to be done, there is required directives and recommendations pushed to the Prime Minister's Office, or the respective bureaucratic channels to enact change. For example, the NSE cannot deploy members of the Armed Forces, but liaisons can work in their own channels with insight and additional information from their counterparts to better inform the General Staff for the required deployment that is likely to materialize from the Prime Minister's Office.
It is uncommon for the Prime Minister to direct the NSE to coordinate on specific issues, as in general the NSE is capable of forecasting issues and trends within the nation's national security framework.
National Security Strategy Memos
One of the key deliverables that was enacted in the late 2010s was the requirement for the NSE to draft and publish accessible documents on Arcer national security strategy (commonly referred to as NSS), to influence and inform other government agencies on what will be required. This has major impacts on both diplomatic policy and international relations.
NSS Memos are to be published every four years, or at the explicit request of the Prime Minister's Office. There is no set topic or required direction the memos must outline, rather they are broad and cover a range of topics, from counter-narcotics trafficking to combatting socialism and piracy abroad. Specific topics from the Prime Minister's Office that are required as amendments become updated revisions to the most recent NSS Memo.
National Security Strategy
2022 Memo
The 2022 Memo for Arcerion's National Security Strategy outlined the continued threat of Varshan and the impact that the Final War of the Deluge would have on South Crona for some time. It accurately forecasted the inevitable collapse of the Varshani state, and believed that the fallout from this would be ethnic insurgencies and rebel warlords appearing, as was seen in Kelekona and some parts of central Varshan in the years following the war's conclusion. Concurrent to this, a vast amount of internally displaced persons and refugees were likely to come to South Crona, which was assessed to be a bastion of commerce, stability, and prosperity as the war continued. This mass influx of refugees into countries such as Kelekona, Telokona, and Titechaxha would place an incredible burden onto the nations which would be unlikely to cope with the amount and likely attempt to offload many of these migrants onto Arcerion or the New Archduchy.
Recommendations were more support for the Ministry of the Interior, to enhance and support the border services and immigration services. Concurrent to this, the Royal Arcerion Constabulary would need increased funding for unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms to assist with border security, as well as the ability to conduct more overt domestic surveillance operations to combat illegal smuggling.
2026 Memo
The 2026 Memo outlined a rising migrant issue that was evident with the outbreak of insurgents in Oakham governorate, and the establishment of the Northwestern Border Security Zone. Additionally, it recommended that the Royal Arcerion Constabulary and Arcerion Coast Guard conduct an updated procurement and overhaul of their existing maritime and littoral platforms, as the rising threats of piracy from Istrenya, Malentina, and Telokona were becoming keystone economic issues. The Diplomatic Service was recommended to engage with Stenzan and Burgoignesc partners, and specifically after the collapse of the South Cronan Congress, Paulastra and Alstin to found a trade and defence union to strengthen Southern Cronan ties through collaboration.
It also saw a rise in the instability of the Cape, and outlined further instructions for the Armed Forces of Arcerion to build on the 2022 Confederate Memo for Defence's recommendations for modernization and reform. The Arcerion Special Operations Command was also advised to conduct preemptive unilateral actions in the Malentine Theatre of Operations (MTO) to combat piracy as the undue effect it had on naval commerce and shipping had become of concern to economic representatives in the NSE.